Progress: Gaya #3

I'm still making steady progress on the portrait of Gaya.

I spent this evening working out how to get the pattern in her sari while still making it look like silk. I've done patterned silk in previous portraits – but only in black and white; a kneadable eraser, and I'm good to go with that. That technique doesn't work with coloured pencils, of course. I've done a similar fabric digitally, too. 

I've settled on a mixed media approach. I start out by mapping in the darkest areas of the pattern with watercolour (in this case raw umber, and the occasional dab of sepia). Then I put in the fabric colour with my prismacolour pencils, right over the top. The watercolour shows through (since I'm only using light colours) but is softened a bit in the process.

Once that's done, I put in the rest of the pattern over the top of the prismacolour with watercolour (Pale cadmium yellow or yellow ochre) or gouache (yellow ochre or white) and a white paint pen.

Her jewellery is done in much the same way: watercolour it all, add shadows with pencil, and highlights with gouache and paint pen. 

Mixed media – around 22 hours